Prisoner in Time (Time travel) (63 page)

“So, I guess we’ll be leaving soon, huh?”

David smiled proudly back.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

-----*-----*-----*-----

As the battle for Nashville wore on, casualties poured in and Doc, David and Geoff worked tirelessly to save them. Operating nonstop throughout the day, by midnight the three had exhausted themselves. With other surgeons there to take their place, they stopped for a bite to eat and some well-deserved rest.

Seated by the fire, they warmed themselves in the cold December air. Wrapping wool blankets around them, they finished their food quickly, then talked about important issues before they headed back to their tents to sleep.

“You did a fine job again today Geoffrey. You must have performed twenty amputations. I do believe your timing is faster than mine,” Doc praised.

Geoff yawned, then replied, “They’re so easy, I can do them in my sleep now.”

“Funny you should say that. The last two you performed, I saw your eyes close a couple of times,” David said, chuckling.

“I was thinking,” Geoff shot back.

Doc smirked at the humorous banter, then suddenly became sad and despondent. David noticed the change in his expression right away.

“Doc, is everything alright,” he asked.

Doc softened his posture in a weak attempt to hide his emotions, then replied, “I’m fine.”

“Doc, I’ve known you for a couple of years now. I’m pretty sure I can tell when things aren’t fine with you. So what gives?”

Doc stiffened and stared into the fire for a moment, collecting his thoughts. As David was about to inquire once more, he cleared this throat and spoke.

“I just realized that you and Geoffrey will be gone soon. I guess I’m feeling a bit saddened by it all. A year ago, I lost my greatest friend and now I feel I’ll be losing two.”

David stared at Doc in stunned silence.

“Gee Doc, I don’t know whether to feel happy or sad about that statement,” David responded. “I guess I should start by saying, I too feel you’re my greatest friend. We’ve been through thick and thin together, created a bond that’s transcended time. I’m going to feel a great loss when I leave here. I’m really going to miss you.” He paused to think, then continued. “I kind of wish there was some way I could come back and visit you from time to time. Unfortunately, I know that’s not possible.”

“Yeah Doc, the same goes for me too,” Geoff cut in. “I’ve grown to love you like I did my grandfather. He’s a great man too. It’s really going to be sad when we leave. Like David, I’m really going to miss you.”

“The irony of all this is I’m closer to you two lads than I am my own family. You may not have known this about me, but before I knew you two, I was a very reserved man. You David, and now you too Geoffrey, have brought out the emotional side of me. When I return home from this darned war, I plan to become much closer with my family and I thank you both for that.”

“What a cruel irony,” David said, thoughtfully.

“How so?” Doc asked, unsure of this exact meaning.

“It’s funny. We had to travel back in time to find that which we couldn’t find in the present,” he replied.

Geoff stood abruptly and headed away from the fire. Doc looked over to David, puzzled. David shrugged his shoulder.

“Where’re you going?” David shouted in lighthearted tone.

“All this mushy talk got to me. I’m going into the woods to cry,” he shouted back sarcastically.

“Ok, I’ve got toilet paper in my tent if you need it,” David said, understanding Geoff’s message.

“No thanks. It’s the other relief I’m looking for,” he joked. “I’ll be back.”

David turned back toward the fire. As both men continued staring at the flames, their minds wandered. Minutes later, Doc smiled to himself.

“That Geoffrey’s a real character, isn’t he?”

“One of a kind,” David replied, jokingly.

“I’m so relieved we were able to persuade him into making the right decision.”

“Yup, that was good thinking on your part Doc. Relating that wounded man he was working on to his own circumstances really made him see the reality of things,” David said with admiration.

“I figured it would. Nothing more convincing than a good dose of reality,” Doc said with a slight chuckle.

While David and Doc were talking, Geoff snuck up on the two from behind. Holding in his laughter, he prepared to scare Doc once more. As he came within listening range, he began to overhear their conversation.

“Sometimes you have to use trickery to get the youngsters to follow you,” Doc joked.

Geoff listened in shock. Unable to see the old man’s face, he considered the statement serious.

‘They tricked me!’ he thought to himself.

Anger roiled inside him at the idea they had purposely misled him.

“It’s a good thing too, ‘cause I was going to throw his bum ass in irons until this whole thing was over,” David added.

Doc and David laughed out loud at their last statement. Geoff seethed in anger, hearing them laugh at his expense.

‘Bum ass? Irons?’ Geoff spat under his breath. “To HELL with them,” he snarled quietly.

Angry and hurt, he spun on his heels and ran off into the darkness toward his tent.

“All joking aside David, if he didn’t change his mind, what would you have done?” Doc asked, now turning serious once more.

David thought for a moment. His expression changing from jovial to concerned.

“I guess I would’ve done the same thing I’ve been doing all along… just stand beside him and help him the best I could.”

“He has a good friend in you David,” Doc responded.

“That works both ways Doc,” David replied.

Both men nodded in understanding.

As time ticked by, they began to notice Geoff’s absence.

“I think the lad is lost,” Doc joked. “It’s been almost a half hour.”

“He said he was tired earlier. I wonder if he just turned in for the night,” David responded.

“Strange he didn’t inform us.”

“Very strange,” David concurred.

“I wonder if he’s ok.”

“I’m sure he’s fine. He probably just got a little distracted and forgot to tell us,” David explained.

Doc nodded and said, “Probably not a bad idea. I’m pretty exhausted too.”

“I think we all are… and it isn’t going to get any easier tomorrow either,” David replied.

“Well, thankfully we don’t have to worry about Geoffrey now. What a great relief that is.”

David nodded and said, “Yup, at least there’s that.”

Doc stood up and stretched. He shivered in the cold, then said, “I suppose we should check up on the lad.”

David stood and tossed the remainder of his cold coffee to the ground. He pulled his blanket tightly around him and said simply, “Yup, probably a good idea.”

As both men headed toward Geoff’s tent far down the line, they heard footsteps approaching fast. Turning around, they spotted a lieutenant hurrying directly toward them.

“Sir, Gen. Thomas would like a word with you in his tent,” the lieutenant said to David.

“It is serious?” David asked.

“I’m not sure, Sir. I think it has to do with tomorrow’s battle.”

David turned to Doc. He face looked grim.

“I hope he’s not planning on having me lead another charge tomorrow. I’ve had more than my fill,” he said.

“I seriously doubt that, David. We greatly outnumber Hood’s army and Gen. Thomas has more generals than he does surgeons, so I’m guessing it’s merely something procedural in nature,” Doc assured.

“I hope so,” David said simply.

“Speaking of doctors, maybe I should check up on them before turning in,” Doc added.

“I was going to do the same. I’ll probably see you over there,” David said, rolling his eyes in discontent.

“A surgeon never sleeps,” Doc joked.

As Doc and David, hurried in their duties, Geoff sat in his tent and composed a letter. Thinking of his future, he no longer felt anger… more important concerns occupied his thoughts. With the last sentence written, he wiped a tear from his cheek, folded the paper and laid it on his cot. He looked around his tiny canvas home, then shouldered his haversack and rifle and headed outside his tent. At such a late hour, the camp was quiet. He took a deep breath, exhaled, then hurried off into the darkness.

-----*-----*-----*-----

December 16
th
, 1864 

5:00am
 

Doc poked at the coals in the campfire, restarting the fire from the previous night. As a flame ignited, he placed more wood on the bed of coals and watched in satisfaction as the reddening glow began to produce heat. He placed a pot of coffee at the fire’s edge, sat back and waited on it to brew. Within minutes, he watched wisps of steam rise out of the spout. A minute later, he filled his tin cup with the hot brown liquid, and began to sip.

“Ugh… acorns,” he said to himself, grimacing. “At least it’s strong,” he added quietly.

“It better be after last night. I think I got an hour of sleep total,” David said from behind.

Startled, Doc spun around, nearly spilling his coffee in his lap.

“David!” he blurted in surprise. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” he said simply. “Guess I should’ve warned you.”

“Quite all right Lad. Help yourself to some coffee,” he said, returning his stare back to the fire.

“Music to my taste buds,” David joked.

He poured himself a tin of coffee, then sat on the opposite side of the fire and sipped the contents. As the fire crackled, the two sat in silence.

“So I take it Gen. Thomas isn’t having you lead a command today?” Doc asked, finally breaking the quiet.

“Nope, he’s monitoring the inflow of casualties, trying to determine if some of them need to be shipped off to hospitals elsewhere.”

“Hmm, on the surface, that idea may seem sound, but when one examines the recovery rate at those places, that plan loses a great deal of its appeal. A man might have to wait a week to be treated here, but he doesn’t have to worry about dying from disease. At those hospitals, I’ve seen many men come in with simple wounds and die weeks later from unrelated illnesses.”

“I agree and that’s what I told him, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the casualty rate is. If it grows too high, we might not have a choice
but
to send them there.”

Doc nodded in agreement, then sipped his coffee. Looking over to his right, he felt Geoff’s absence.

“I suppose we should wake the lad,” he remarked.

David nodded and said, “I’m betting he slept well last night.” He thought for a moment, then asked, “Were you able to check up on him before you went to bed?”

“No, I guess I got tied up with patients and forgot.”